We recently started a special project in Ethiopia together with Van Dijk Flora and Dutch Flower Foundation. This school year, 1350 students at Sher schools aged 4 to 6 will receive a portion of probiotic yogurt full of healthy nutrients and building materials twice a week. One serving of milk provides a 5-year-old with 33% of the daily protein requirement and 10% of the daily calories. The yogurt is added to the existing hot meal that all KG-students receive every day at school.

With this project we make sure that children get the nutritious food they need. In this way we reduce the risk of malnutrition and increase the attendance of the children. For this project, there is a collaboration with two local dairy farmers where their sales are guaranteed, which provides work for no fewer than sixteen people.

We are very grateful with this generous help from our partners van Dijk Flora and Dutch Flower Foundation and would like to thank them on behalf of all the children, parents and teachers at the Sher schools.

In our efforts to upgrade the services of the Sher Hospital in Batu / Ziway we have recently invested in a new anesthesia machine. According to Worke Aboy, anesthetist, the machine is a real asset to the hospital because is works fully automatic so the anesthetist can work multiple tasks during the surgery while observing the patient.

Another advantage is the fact that the new machine has a paediatric part. Dr. Dems, Medical Director, explains: ‘Previously we had to refer children to other hospitals. With the use of the new machine this is history, and we can treat more patients.

After installation and a professional training from the manufacturer for all staff involved, the new machine was put into use.

At Sher hospital all Sher employees (approx. 12.500) and Sher-students (6.500) get free medical care. Members of the community are served at a low-cost rate. Over 100.000 patients are treated every year.

Late September we had the honor to witness the handing over of 16 newly constructed apartments to impoverished people in Batu/Ziway town. The project involved the demolition of old, dilapidated housing structures and their replacement with decent stone houses.

About 18 months ago, the Sher Fairtrade Premium Committee initiated the project which was funded by the purchase of #Fairtrade roses. The consumers choice for Fairtrade roses enables the FPC to empower communities and to help the vulnerable to live truly decent lives. These 16 apartments will ensure a healthy living environment for elderly and disabled persons by providing them with decent housing and clean sanitary facilities that they previously lacked.

As a company we contributed to the project by making all labor available for free. So, a big thank you to the construction team and all others that did a tremendous job.

In the presence of Mayor Mr. Gezahegn and Mr. Boniface Lwanda (ECAN Flower Manager of Fairtrade Africa), the houses were handed over to the old residents. A great achievement by the Sher Fairtrade Premium Committee!

Over the past year, some areas in Ethiopia were affected by a shortage of rainfall which led to crop failures and death of livestock. To support one of the affected areas around Ziway, Sher Ethiopia has supported 800 households with 25 kg of maize flour. On behalf of Sher management, we handed over the aid to Adami Tulu Jido Kombolcha Wareda Administration. The distribution takes place this week, according to Aman Muda, Local Relations Manager of Sher Ethiopia.

In Koka we support a public school. Recently we donated a school material package to 50 children that needed some support. In the presence of the representatives of the Bora Woreda Administration, the Education Office, and Labor and Social Affairs Office Sher Ethiopia staff handed over the materials to the students and their families.

The head of the Woreda Education office Mr. Endale Wariso thanked Sher Ethiopia for its unwavering support to the surrounding community and he wished all students a successful school year.

Today, people around the world unite and join forces to clean up litter and waste from the environment. We actively contributed by cleaning the surrounding environments of our farms in Adami Tulu and Koka. And 2 weeks ago the areas around the farm site in Ziway were cleaned, where we joined forced with our neighboring farms. Over a 100 Sher-employees participated in these cleaning activities.

Litter is not only unpleasant to look at; eventually, it will pollute the environment and make its way to rivers, lakes, and the oceans, endangering animals and harming the planet and our health.

A big thank you to all our workers and volunteers that contributed to this event. Now let’s keep it clean!

Do you have good communication skills with workmates, other medical staff and patients, and excellent attention for detail?
We require a minimum of 1 year of professional work experience at hospital level.
What we mainly ask of you as medical colleague is a committed, professional, and positive attitude, to create compassionate environment for the patients visiting our hospital.

Look at our job vacancy for which Ethiojobs is supporting us and apply via their website.

This morning we had the privilege to host an Ethiopian delegation at our logistics center in Aalsmeer, the Netherlands. Dr Sofiya Kassa, State Minister for Agricultural Investment Sector, Mr. Mekonnen Solomon, Director of Horticulture Investment and Nega Mequanint, Board Chairman of EHPEA were part of the delegation among some advisors. Mr. Cees de Greve, CEO, welcomed the guests and explained how our roses, grown in Ethiopia, are supplied to different customers all over Europe. We discussed different market mechanisms influencing the success and challenges of the sales of Ethiopian roses.

Mr Aswin Endeman, CSR Manager, highlighted some of the social and environmental projects that create shared value with major impact for the communities that we operate in. We also explained how Afriflora as well as horticultural expertise in the Netherlands support the Horticultural sector in Ethiopia.

We thank all delegation members for their active participation and the interesting discussions.  አመሰግናለሁ, galatoomaa

Happy New Year to all our Ethiopian friends.

In August 2022 a new borehole was drilled at our elementary school in Ziway. At 72 meters deep water was struck. Thanks to Christian Service International, who offered to do the drilling, we no longer need to use potable water to irrigate our trees and plants and flush the lavatories. On behalf of all 6500 children at Sher Schools we would like to thank the staff of CSI and mr Chucha Gobena in particular, the local project Coordinator. We are looking forward to drill three more boreholes at our other school locations.